Learning activities/Class Orchestra

Notes from Nigeria 5/07

File:Orchestra1.jpg

I thought of making a digital-acoustic orchestra... The acoustic part was much louder, and it ended up being only acoustic and kinetic. We started; each row was a different instrument. 'Instrument' meant making a certain kind of sound. It started quietly, but little by little everybody wanted to be louder and louder. The principal came to see why the children were so noisy. When she saw that it was me making all the racket, she asked what it was about. I told her we were an orchestra and asked the children to show her, but she just laughed and told me to enjoy myself. We changed the orchestra for a combination of different sounds and movements, where each student authored one, and we added them to the ensemble. The whole activity lasted less than 20 minutes. However, it was fun for all and required lots of physical coordination and good memory. Break time came but everybody wanted to stay in the classroom. Finally they left to play outside. --Carla Gomez Monroy, Learning Consultant, OLPC

Task: Adapt This Story

Help adapt this story into a learning activity for children around the world.

What kinds of activities do we want? Read our educational activity guidelines to understand our vision for learning. Or, take a look at some sample learning activities to get a sense of what we're looking for.

Does this activity look good to you? Try it in your classroom and use the discussion page to tell us how it went. Or, use one of our activity templates to create a related activity and link to it below.

Activity: Class Orchestra

Description

Turn your class into an orchestra and put on a show!

Activity

1. As a class, introduce the concept of an orchestra. Explain that it means many instruments playing together.
2. Use miniTamTam to learn what various instruments sound like.
3. Divide into groups; each group will be an instrument or section of the orchestra.
4. Allow each group to practice its part.
5. Allow each group to perform its part for the class.
6. Then, "conduct" the class in a class orchestra.

Ideas for Expansion

Create

Use TamTam to store each groups's part on the XO. Or, develop a notation system to record each group's part on paper.

Collaborate

How can students collaborate in this activity? How can they share? Do the children work together in the classroom? What about over the mesh? Does the class communicate with classes in other towns? In other countries?

Adapt

How can this activity be adapted for a setting outside of the classroom? What about for a specific region or location? What kind of practical, real-world, or region-specific knowledge can this activity help children learn?

Extend

How can you use the base activities Write, Capture, Draw, etc., to extend this exercise into a new discipline or dimension?

Explore

What's going on underneath the surface? How does this exercise allow children to explore underneath-- and behind-- the activity? What kind of deeper understanding do they gain about the concepts and tools they use in everyday life?

Reflect

How can students reflect on what they've learned? And how should this activity be recorded? What kind of digital object should be produced and stored in the Journal?

Related Activities

• I'm the Conductor: http://www.mamamedia.com/areas/grownups/new/learning/lessons/lesson_10.html

Commentary

Comments, feedback, links to other classes using this activity.